Haphazardous Happenings
by Grinning Wolf
Summary: The inglorious and somewhat haphazard security trio at its finest! Oneshots concerning the lives of M-21, Takeo and Tao, the evolution of their friendship and the struggles they face as discarded experiments of the Union. Updates randomly.
1. Excerpt 1: Becoming Comrades

_**Author's Note**__**: This is me procrastinating on an English final… *is ashamed* Just miscellaneous one-shots most likely, nothing serious and I can tell I'm rusty at writing. This focuses mainly on the inglorious trio: Takeo, Tao and M-21 considering they're probably my favorite characters in Noblesse, and their comradery. This picks up right after Frankenstein has defeated Takeo during the DA-5 plot.**_

**~~~GW~~~**

**Excerpt 1: Becoming Comrades**

The mixture of hot and cold that he felt was almost as overwhelming to his senses as the pain that accosted his battered body. His warm back was pressed against the cold cement rooftop, his body both warmed by the hot blood sliding from the gaping wounds in his flesh and chilled by the loss of precious blood. His long hair lay splayed about his head, the fine strands wicking up the sticky crimson liquid that pooled underneath him. He could feel it drying on his face from where it had spattered, his fingers barely brushing the growing puddle. His eyes fluttered closed underneath heavy eyelids and he exhaled a pain filled, hopeless breath. The blonde haired man had left him here without the mercy of quickly ending his life, an odd hesitance in the man's eyes as he'd abruptly halted the finishing blow before suddenly leaving. At the thought Takeo's lips twisted downward, his blood stained teeth baring in an enraged grimace even as he winced in pain.

But then again he deserved to be left here to die slowly didn't he?

Those people he had approached in a whimsical manner, the childish _want_ to be friendly and _normal_ that had compelled him to make light conversation with strangers that he _thought_ he'd never see again. He thought it'd been harmless. So selfish of him…and now…now they were all _dead_. All of the kids he'd waved to, awkwardly trying to be polite in foreign languages he didn't know. The woman he'd stooped to grab spilled groceries for before finding her quite motherly and hovering nearby like a lost child. They'd chatted about her kids and the weather for god's sake! Not his mission! And now they were all dead, murdered by Shark because of his own selfish social whims.

Selfish! Selfish! Selfish!

Takeo pressed a hand to his tightly closed eyes, his teeth clenched in agony. And as if he couldn't get any more selfish, here he was dying on some god forsaken rooftop for someone else's goals while leaving his beloved sister behind in the clutches of those sick bastards! The thought of his sickly sister alone in that hospital bed sent a shiver down his spine and a sense of determination suddenly kindled in his aching guts. With an audible groan he twisted on his side, a painful hiss causing blood and saliva to drip from his gritted teeth before falling to the puddle beneath him. He had to get up, he had to at least survive this much if only to return to his sister…

With slow haltering movements Takeo planted a gloved hand on the slick cement below him and struggled, managing to wedge one boot clad foot underneath him. The movement caused a ripple in his muscles and he could feel the deep slices that covered his body flex before splitting back open.

"AUGH!" He snarled, his leg wobbling dangerously before suddenly giving out on him. His damaged body crashed back to the ground, chest heaving as strands of his bloody hair clung to his face and lips. "Damnit…" He groaned pitifully, blinking back the tears of agony forcing themselves to his eyes. "Damnit!" He hissed, pressing his forehead against the cool unforgiving cement below him. Just this once…he'd rest just this once and then he'd get back up again. Just for a minute. Just a minute.

_Weak!_

A voice hissed in the back of his mind.

_So selfish! Are you thinking of giving up? Selfish! A coward's way out! Quitter!_

But it's painful. He was tired-oh so tired of everything.

_Get up!_

His sister was his only reason for living. There was nothing else in this world for him. His so-called _comrades_ that he was forced to work with? The job he was forced to do? The strength he was forcefully given? They meant _nothing_ to him. The painful experiments, the sight of his beloved younger sister confined in that hospital bed, the white walls that closed in on them, the stench of antiseptic and the blood that stained his hands a permanent red…

_Get up!_

Why?

_Get up!_

"I said _get up_ you heavy bastard! Use your feet!" Snapped an impatient voice and Takeo's eyes fluttered exhaustedly open, his vision slipping and sliding. The world spun sickeningly around him before abruptly hazing back into focus, details sharpening like pinpoints of light.

"Wha…?" He rasped, feeling warm hands touch his chest and lift his arm and suddenly he was being pulled upwards agony shooting through his body. "Nngh!" He gasped, his vision blurring again before a splotch of black focused beside his head.

"Wow he really did you in! Aha how scary! Hold on Takeo, up we go-" Came the familiar voice and Takeo blinked, his eyes focusing on that ridiculous lone streak of white hair.

"…Tao?" He murmured and the lithe hacker blinked and flashed him a relieved smile, struggling to uphold the taller man's weight on his narrow shoulders.

"Yeah it's me."

"You…where are the o-others?" The sniper demanded weakly and Tao pursed his lips, adjusting the other man's weight as he half dragged him towards the stairs. When he didn't receive an answer Takeo let out a pained groan and allowed his eyes to slip closed again.

"Oy stay awake on me stupid! Didn't they train us not to go to sleep when heavily wounded?!" Tao demanded urgently, suddenly jostling his fellow comrade in an effort to wake him.

"Why did you come…?" His bloody lips parted and the words that escaped from between them surprised the both of them. His wounded useless body was draped around the younger man's shoulders, his full weight bearing down on Tao. He could feel his blood soaking into the hacker's skewed skirt, could see the effort it took to hold him up with hands becoming slick with blood. Tao looked battered himself, both of them exhausted and nervous and unsettled by what had happened to them. Why?

"…You're my comrade. I'm just doing what I'm supposed to." Came Tao's soft voice. "Don't worry I'm figuring it out, they don't seem to be hostile, if we can just-" But the babble of soothing words slid into the meaningless noise of the background and briefly he could feel Tao shaking him with alarm, calling out his name. But the tunnel of darkness was narrowing in on his vision and briefly he felt a thin smirk curl at his lips.

_Comrades? What a sorry excuse! Isn't Shark and Krantz also our comrades?_ He thought ironically, an image of Tao's uneasy face suddenly flashing into his mind at the sight of those children huddled before them. Maybe the two of them weren't so different after all. All those missions of barely speaking to one another, he'd kept silent in the corner separated from all of them while Tao sat with his eyes glued to his computer screens, his mind elsewhere in his own little cybernetic world. They didn't even really know one another.

Spending all that time with these people.

Going on missions with them.

Starting wars with them.

_Murdering_ with them.

And he couldn't even claim to know them…

_Pathetic!_

Takeo's body slackened, the heavy pull of consciousness finally claiming his beaten form. He felt cold on the inside, oh so very cold and numb. But for the time being that was alright because it also meant he couldn't feel the pain. Beside him the warm body of Tao pressed against his, laboring to drag them both down the stairs, so full of struggle and emotion and life. Warm on the outside, cold on the inside. The mixture of hot and cold was almost overwhelming to Takeo's senses but then again it also meant he was still alive.

**~~~GW~~~**

_**Author's Note**__**: Please do not proceed to inform me of the plot twist concerning Takeo's sister. I am very much aware of what happens so just let the irony wash over you~ Lol. Reviews would be appreciated, tell me what you think? This is my first time writing a Noblesse fanfic with these characters. After finals I plan on continuing my Blue Exorcist and LOK fics if I can…**_


	2. Excerpt 2: A Reason to Live

_**Author's Note**__**: I apologize for more angst lol, I swear there will be much more humorous bits but after reading chapter 262…my feels…my feels man.**_

**~~~GW~~~**

**Excerpt 2: A Reason to Live**

M-21 stepped silently through the sliding glass doors that led out onto the overhanging balcony and turned to close the door behind him. The chill wind caught at his silver hair and tossed it playfully past his face. Briefly his eyes flickered upwards to take in the hunched form of Takeo leaning dejectedly against the railing before he glanced over at Tao who flashed him a thin smile in return before turning his attention back to his upset comrade.

He could sense the tension between the two men heavy in the cold air with unspoken words and a turmoil of emotions. Worry and anxiety was emitting from Tao's hovering form as he stood close by the sniper, his brow knit in concern as he argued with the man. On the other hand a much sharper feeling came from Takeo. Rage, disgust, defeat-it all radiated from him in hot angry waves of spite and distrust. M-21 leaned silently against the door frame and watched the two, understanding their feelings _exactly_ because he had been there before with M-24 and he knew exactly what they were going through. He himself had felt that same feeling of despair that Takeo was feeling and that same gnawing worry that was surely pestering Tao.

The Hacker's hand snaked out, resting briefly on Takeo's shoulder in an attempt to draw his attention but the purple haired man immediately tensed and shrugged off his hand. Tao's concerned expression was more than enough to send a sudden lance of emotion through M-21 and he blinked in surprise. And suddenly he was incredibly _envious_ of the two of them. Of the somewhat hesitant brotherly relationship they had with one another. It was faint and new but all the same it was still there. The understanding between the two, the confidence that at least they had someone they were familiar with to turn to, the way they could talk with one another if only they just tried. He'd once had that before-all of that…with M-24.

And now he was gone. Dead. And with his death went all of his goals, all of his worries and dreams that he had shared with M-21. That stayed behind like a lingering ghost in the silver haired man's mind, a constant reminder of that lost determination. Of that lost life, and now Takeo had the audacity to stand before him and complain that he no longer had a reason to live? How pathetic! This man had no idea…what it was like to _begin_ with no meaning in life. What it was like to start out with _nothing_ and to claw his way until he had finally _found_ a reason to live. He didn't know what it was like to have those new found dreams easily cast aside by the Union, to hang over the precipice of death ready and willing to just vanish from this world before suddenly being wrenched back and having yet another meaning of life forcibly thrust upon him.

M-21's eyes flickered over to Tao and the rather stricken expression on his face. He could see again that resigned look in the hacker's eyes as he'd hesitated before stepping closer to Krantz. That sickeningly tragic smile that had spread across his lips. _This is the fate of modified humans like me._ Takeo if anything was the luckiest out of all of them. He'd had a reason for living from the beginning even if fake. He'd still had one.

How ironic.

"…Funny." The words slipped past his lips without meaning to but once they had he didn't regret them. The two experiments glanced up at him, Takeo's brow drawn in confusion as the three of them regarded one another. "That's funny." He continued regardless, his temper boiling underneath his seemingly lax expression.

"M-21?" And suddenly the words were lashing out, his eyes snapping open with a glint of determination that days ago would not have been there. Takeo responded in anger but hell that was better than nothing! That was better than sitting there like a lost doll-a broken toy thrown away by those Union bastards because it was no longer fun to play with! You're free! He felt like shouting. Do you not see it? Can't you? You're alive!

"Don't have a reason to live?" He spat angrily, sickened by the spoiled statement. "Do you know what kind of words you're spouting in front of me?!" He shouted, his body shaking from the sheer indignation of the man before him. An image of M-24's lopsided grin flashed into his mind and he cast his eyes away, his lips parting ever so slightly. "Don't ever…say anything like that in front of me again." He murmured softly, the tinge of regret so sharp in his voice that it tasted sour. "At least you…have a partner that you've been with all this time." He called over his shoulder, his hands jammed deep into his pockets to prevent their trembling. At that Takeo glanced over at Tao, surprise laced across his features as M-21 turned his back on them and returned inside.

Silence fell heavily between the two of them as Takeo stood there, slowly processing the angry words of M-21. Beside him Tao wrapped his thin arms around himself, the chill wind brushing past his thinly clothed form as he waited for Takeo to come to whatever decision he may be looking for.

"I remember…it's a blur but I remember you coming for me…" Takeo suddenly spoke up quietly and Tao blinked before looking up at him.

"Yeah."

"Why did you do that? Why didn't you escape-you came back for me." Takeo demanded and Tao shrugged, his lips twisting into an ironic grin.

"You were different from the others. Truthfully? It doesn't really bother me that they're dead." He replied honestly and Takeo stared in surprise. "On missions you formed relationships with people so _easily_, I was always kind of envious of that ability. Krantz had me stuck at the base all the time with Shark-" An expression of disgust suddenly twisted his normally smooth features before he shrugged it off but Takeo bristled.

"That ability caused countless innocents to die!" He snapped roughly and Tao shrugged before suddenly brightening. He snapped his fingers and grinned deviously at Takeo causing the sniper to pause as a long finger was suddenly jabbed at his chest.

"Well there you go!" The hacker beamed cheerfully. "There's your reason for living then! You have to amend for that don't you? You can't just give up and die!" Tao informed him blatantly and Takeo's eyes widened in astonishment. "Hehe pretty sharp huh?"

"But how am I supposed to…?"

"Just do the opposite of what you did before!" Tao interjected, smiling madly as if he'd just cracked the most challenging computer code out there. "Instead of getting people killed…maybe we can help them out?" He proposed thoughtfully. Silently Takeo pressed a hand to his chin, mulling the idea over deeply before he abruptly shoved past Tao and stalked towards the door. "Ah Takeo-damnit…" Tao grumbled, quickly trotting after him as they burst inside. The sniper made a beeline over to where M-21 was sitting and drew up short, towering menacingly over him in a nervous ball of energy and confusion. The room drew silent, waiting on bated breath as a crackling tension filled the air. M-21 looked up at him, his grey eyes level and defiant as the two modified humans eyed one another.

"I'm…sorry for the pathetic display." Takeo eventually exhaled and a pleased smile flickered across M-21's mouth before he _laughed._ And just like that the tension was gone and Takeo was humbly asking for help from Frankenstein. M-21 grinned ruefully to himself and glanced up, catching Tao's eyes from where the ebony haired man stood and suddenly he flashed M-21 a grateful smile, relief shining on his face. A jolt of unknown emotion passed through the werewolf and he returned the smile hesitantly, confusion filling him. An ache converged in his chest and as he watched the two make their way to the lab below he wondered if maybe one day he would ever be a part of something like that…

**~~~GW~~~**

_**Author's Note**__**: Annnnd back to writing English essays! Fuuuu~ So not counting Frankenstein and of course Rai and the other characters, out of the three of them (M-21, Takeo and Tao) who is your favorite? I'm curious let me know! So far the consensus seems to be M-21. Lol. Also reviews would be appreciated, let me know if you liked it, if they're not in-character and etc.**_


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